From Beijing to Mongolia

Our last morning in Beijing and we headed to the Dirt Market, a weekend market jammed with vendors selling everything from Mao memorabilia to pottery to artwork. We did a crash shopping course while John and Martin bonded with the locals once again..

Finally it was time for our MIAT (Mongolian International Air) experience. We thought we’d grab a bite to eat at the airport- but found that one dumpling was going for $7.00. So, operating on no breakfast or lunch, we boarded our flight. A few minutes into the flight, we noticed a man slumped over onto the woman next to him and a look of panic on her face. John flew across the seats to get a flight attendant and before we knew it, the man was stretched out on the floor by our seats attended by 3 doctors. One, an emergency room doctor, told us that he had had a grand mal seizure and wanted to know if he was on any medication. The woman he was travelling with was useless- so we managed to find his bag and John found the medication. His travelling companion who was completely ineffectual told us that she was a medical doctor- but couldn’t even recognize the medication as an anti-seizure drug. It was quite a dramatic experience- and fortunately, the guy was all right. They got him to his seat and monitored him for the rest of the flight. We also got a bit of a snack- all in a one hour and 20 minute flight.

We got into Ulaan Baatar at about 10:30 PM, exhausted and hungry. Bold and his wife, Flora (Tsetseg) met us- Bold took our bags and we loaded into the van. The moneychanger at the airport was closed, so Flora managed to find a bank open (at 11:00 PM on a Sunday night).

Then we headed for our hotel, the Selenge. It was quite a rude awakening after the 4 star Capital Hotel in Beijing. The place stunk of Russian ownership- cracked driveway, unkempt lawn- that general look of Soviet disrepair. The group was put to the test- their first experience with the Soviet lifestyle. The staff got us into our rooms and the fun started. Our room had a toilet that didn’t flush properly, no light bulbs in the hall light; Kate and Sarah tried to plug in the TV and got a jolt of electricity from the wall. The carpets were badly stained and filled with cigarette holes and the sofa that was once a light brown was almost black. No one had towels or soap or toilet paper- and the fight began. Then, we realized that we were in Mongolia with no bottled water and no transportation and we were in the middle of nowhere. John managed to find someone to get us some water to get us through the night and we collapsed into bed. Quite an entry.